Probably. Here's why.
((Quick note: my Prototype system ranks skills as Simple, Complex and Very Complex in order to facilitate dice rolled, number of points needed to gain a skill level and how often bonuses are awarded. Simple skills roll a d8 (with a target number of 5), gain a level ever 4 points, but can only have a maximum bonus of +4. Complex skills roll a d10 (target 6), gain a level every 6 points and get a max bonus of +5. Very Complex skills roll a d12 (target 7), gain a level every 8 points and get a max bonus of +7.
Why rank complexity? Because performing brain surgery is a hell of a lot more difficult than riding a bike. Why the gain in points required to level? Again, because learning to ride a bike is a lot easier than learning to putter around someone's brain without killing them. Why a bigger bonus for VC skills? Because there is a larger knowledge base necessary for performing those skills. You need to have a lot more knowledge under your belt to even attempt brain surgery than you need to attempt to ride a bike. Obviously, these analogies are simplistic, but the principle remains valid.))
Initially, I had one of the combat skills as "Martial Arts". It was generic and covered everything, giving some hefty bonuses to physical stats. I grew tired of this when I realized that all my playtesters invariably ignored the other combat skills in favor of Martial Arts. I had created a group of amateur ninjas. This could not stand.
So I set about redoing the "Martial Art" skill, breaking it up into many skills in several different categories, complexities and areas of focus. All in all, I came up with around 30 different martial arts skills, divided up mainly into area of origin: styles from China, Japan, the western world (namely Spain and Germany) and "Gunkata" which drew mainly on the American frontier gunman. Each area of focus had several martial art styles of differing complexity that would offer certain battlefield benefits.
For instance, the Chinese martial art "Kongminmai" (named after Zhuge Liang's surname "Kongming". Ref: "Romance of the Three Kingdoms") allows a player to "predict the outcome of a battle days in advance." In game terms, this translated to a massive reaction time in the form of a +3 dexterity bonus.
Ex 2: The Western martial art "St. Mark's Defender" gives a 10% armor bonus at certain levels that, when at the maximum Skill Level of 12, gives a total of 70% more armor.
I was more or less content with this style of martial art, but I felt that things had become a bit too specialized. In aiming for something a bit more complex than "generic", I shot too high and hit "overly complicated." I cooked up a middle ground that runs along the lines of "Martial Art: Upper Body Focus" and "Martial Art: Pistol Gunslinger" in which most Martial Art skills gave bonuses to strength, dexterity and a to-hit bonus at certain skill levels. I'm not sure if I like this yet. It's a step up from a single Martial Art skill, but I wonder if its still a bit too generic. "Small Melee Weapon" can cover a lot of ground that isnt necessarily similar. Fighting with a small mace is a lot different than fighting with a short sword.
Mind you, I wasn't trying to elevate one Martial Art above the other, though it came out that way. I suppose I could've just labeled all Martial Art skills as "Very Complex" instead of ranking some of them as Simple and Complex, like other skills, but (and I'm no expert on the subject) are all martial art styles really created equal? I didn't think so.
The jury's still out on this one.
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